Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 23: Not as Planned

I stood at the side of the road with the hood of my cloak pulled off my head. The people around me whispered in anticipation as we awaited the noble men's family. I overheard that the noblemen were going to be crowned Knights at the King's Ball in three nights, and the whole kingdom was a buzz.

The plan was in action, and my nerves were calmed by the realization that no one was paying attention to me in the middle of all of the excitement. I remembered going over all of the details with Allioni. He tucked away a dagger in one of the pockets inside the cloak.

"Oh, I do hope that the Noble Men would have some sons," a thin woman with flour on her clothes and face mused beside me, "wouldn't it be lovely if Janet could become betrothed to an heir of a wealthy estate."

The short woman beside her with her hair tied back in a ponytail shook her head, " I doubt it dear. Those men are only looking for ways to grow their pockets and families. What could they want from you, dear Janet?"

I listened to their conversation while still going over my duties for the day. I had to befriend the girls and try to attend the fighting festival with them. Often when we went over this part of the plan, Jack wound up and would go silent unwilling to participate in the plans. I understood that he was worried about me, but he didn't have to go silent.

After our talks, Jack would often run off to the woods for hours. I began to blame myself for pushing him away. I felt as though I took away my own best friend, but when he wouldn't come back until well into the night, I knew something was up.

"Oh, what do you know? Those boys would be lucky to have my Janet!" The woman said in a slightly more hostile tone.

Soon, a short man in puffy blue pants and a white button-up shirt blew through a horn causing all of the murmuring to come to a stop. He stood in the middle of the road as we heard the sound of horses hooves gently hitting the dirt from a distance.

"Hear ye, hear ye, I am proud to introduce, Sir Itachi and his family, and Sir Daniel and his Court!" the short man announced.

As the horses leading carriages entered into the city, a cannon went off blowing confetti into the air. Hands all around applauded the men as they rode past, not stopping to speak to the subjects. The carriages were white with gold linings all over it, and the emblem stamped on the door.

The two carriages were extravagant, to say the least. They were everything I expected to see when I thought of carriages and people affiliated with the royal family. The way the world seemed to make space for them made me see how perfectly they fit as leaders of the country.

Immediately, I tried to think of a way to get the attention of the girls. I saw no way, or reason for the carriages to stop. I knew that I would have to act quickly before they passed me, but short of throwing myself into the street, there was nothing I could do, so I threw myself into the street and hoped that I wouldn't get trampled by horses.

The horses came to a sudden halt, and there was a big commotion from onlookers. I didn't know why they were so frazzled, I was the one faced down in the dirt. I got up and saw a man get out of the carriage, and walking towards me. I hung my head as his hand rested on the handle of his holstered sword as he looked at me with a certain disgust.

He was a rather tall and intimidating man. He stood with perfect posture and a suit of armor over his body. His long black beard fell just below his chin, but his hair was buzzed off. I could tell by the way that he moved that he was in no way interested in a friendly discussion.

"What is this?" He asked crinkling his nose as though I smelled, "A girl throwing herself before my horses? What is your name girl?"

I kept my head down not daring to respond to him. I wondered whether or not I should give him my real name. I mean, would it really make a difference? The man grew impatient with his thick white brows knitted together, and his strong muscular face remaining stone cold.

"I said, what is your name?" The man repeated, this time raising his voice. Onlookers didn't dare make a peep.

"Margarette," I answered without thinking as I looked up at the man. His already perfect posture straightened out some more when our eyes met.

"Well, Margarette, would you care to explain why you have decided to interrupt our journey?" The man asked not moving away from me. He just stood there and eyed me down as I began to get nervous.

I shivered a bit knowing that the man could slice me open with his blade any time he chose, "I fell, Sir," I stuttered a bit.

"You fell?" He asked. I nodded, "Well, Margarette, I don't believe that you did fall. I believe that you were hoping to get our attention."

I began to get more nervous than before that man could somehow pick up on my plans. He circled around me chuckling a bit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe that this young lady was attempting to gain the attention of the Prince in that carriage," The man announced to the crowd who began to mumble, "its sad, but I can understand a young woman's need to find a wealthy man."

"That's not true!" I said in a tone a little too rough.

"Sir," I added as I heard the crowd gasp a bit at my reaction.

The man gave me an intense stare before looking at the crowd, "No? Well, then I should assume you were trying to cause us some type of harm," he said walking towards the carriage, "a crime punishable by death."

A few of the guards walked over to me as though they were ready to seize me. I reached into my cloak as the guards approached with their hands on their swords. I clutched it tightly and stepped back as the crowd stayed silent.

"No, father wait," a girl called as she ran out of the carriage, "she's just a girl!"

The girl ran beside me, body blocking me from the guards. Another girl with the same dark brown hair ran out of the carriage visibly upset. I easily put together that they were sisters as they bickered a little over what the first girl was doing with me.

"Father," The first girl asked giving her attention back to her dad, " would you like if someone were to execute us for simply falling? Have you no mercy?"

The man looked visibly uncomfortable as he shifted the weight between his two feet. He looked at his daughter with both sympathy and annoyance as everyone watched on waiting for my verdict.

The man cleared his throat, "Very well, but this act will not go unpunished," the man announced looking at the guards who stood still awaiting command, "let her walk beside the carriage with us. She'll be our new help. Right on time, our past help has unfortunately passed on her way here."

The guards pulled me away from the girls that were giving me sympathetic looks and stood me beside the carriage instructing me to follow. Anxiety once again washed over me as the plan was falling apart.

As the carriage continued, I walked beside it. The ride seemed to go on for an hour with the ride going into the outskirts of town. The girls and their father were incoherently arguing between each other for the entire time until we came to a stop at an arena with a sign outside that said: SORCERERS FIGHTING FESTIVAL.